Supernova
by The9Tard
Summary: Mandarin was the ruthless and powerful leader of the Hyperforce, both feared and respected by all. But what happens when he pushes one of his team mates too far? In reference to the Episode 'Snowbound' before, during, and after the incident where Nova was being 'trained' by Mandarin and ultimately lost her temper. I don't think there are enough stories before Chiro was around.
1. The Training Arena

_Been a while since I published anything here, huh? I thought I'd try some stories again with the free time I have. This one was gonna be a one-shot, but it turned out to be way too long for that, so I decided to divide it into a few easy to digest Chapters. I hope you all like it. I will post more chapters soon, so keep an eye out for them._

 _I just recently binge-watched this series, I only caught glimpses of when Jetix was still around, and ended up loving it so much I wanted to write a story of my own taking place back when Mandarin was in charge._ _  
_

 _Also to note: No I'm NOT trying to ship Mandarin and Otto in this fic. Considering that it's been implied these two were best friends at some point, I think Otto was the only one he had a soft spot for, but that's about it. Like very close brothers basically. (There is a little bit of Sparx and Nova, however.)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: The Training Arena**_

It was late afternoon in Shuggazoom City. It was comfortable autumn weather with a light shower of rain briskly approaching from the grey clouds above. By now, citizens had started prepping their shops and heading indoors before the storm showed itself, going about their day with content.

On the horizon of the nearby buildings stood it's sole protectors, the Super Robot and it's 6 pilots within it. The Hyperforce, known by many as the Super Robot Monkey Team, were relatively new to Shuggazoom, having shown up only a few months ago.  
Despite the fact that they were, well, sentient talking robot monkeys, they quickly gained the favor of the city's residents when they saved them from a giant alien slug. The monster was the lovely courtesy of an equally new threat, Skeleton King, and his reign of terror over the cosmos that the team swore to fight against.  
They've not only continuously rescued the city from the forces of Skeleton King and beyond, but their influence alone has helped with crime rates and efforts to rebuild.

Inside the Super Robot, the team was hard at work with their new training exercises their leader, Mandarin, imposed on them a few weeks ago.

These sessions made them fight and move in various types of severe weather conditions simulated inside of the Robot's high-tech training room. Normally this wouldn't be a bad thing, they had to stay prepared after all, but it had been hours since they started and some of them were starting to get tired.

* * *

"Oh come on, did you HAVE to make it this hot?"

"Of course I did. That's the whole point of this exercise. How are we supposed to protect Shuggazoom if we can't take some bad weather?" The orange monkey known as Mandarin cast his red eyes to Sparx, looking rigid, "If you're too weak to handle a little heat, maybe you shouldn't be on the team, Sparky."

The red monkey glared at his leader, baring his teeth some, "DON'T call me that, Mandarin. You know I hate it-"

"Look out!" Next thing Sparx saw was a blur of yellow as he was thrown and pinned to the ground by another body right as a saw whizzed by. Blinking at the ceiling, he craned his neck downwards and smirked when he saw a teammate laying on him, staring at him with large pink eyes.  
"Aww Nova, I didn't know you cared." he teased, shifting some under her. Though his voice had that confident air to it as always, he inwardly did his best not to blush with the female monkey being this close.

Grimacing in disgust, she stood up from him quickly and dusted herself off, "Yeah I do. Who's going to pilot the other fist rocket if you're gone?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her irritated tone.

He huffed, wincing when he felt a gloved metal hand wedge under his arm and jerk him upwards. Looking to the side, he flinched slightly under Mandarin's cold gaze. He would never, ever, admit it, but their oh so glorious 'leader' was scary when he was mad.

"Stay focused." he roughly shoved Sparx backwards, standing between him and Nova. His scowl never faltered for a moment, "Your team might not always be there to save your sorry circuitry."

With that he dodged backwards at a laser that fired in his and Nova's direction, pulling both warriors right back into the fray of fighting. It was interesting for anyone to watch, both monkeys never seeming to break a sweat in battle even at a temperature more suited to a desert. Almost in unison they skirted, zoomed, punched and sliced both on the ground and in the air as if it were a dance.

"He's right you know." Gibson flew past Sparx, firing an electric blast from one of his drills into a floating robot droid as it lunged at him, "We must remain vigilant and prepared in case we're ever separated."

He zipped gracefully in the air, zapping three other droids while shouting his battle cry, _"Cyber vac drill blaster!"_

His blue companion only served to irritate the red pilot monkey further, his fur starting to stand on edge.  
 _  
Gibson and his stupid smart mouth._

Still, he took a deep breath and tried to focus despite the blistering heat, "I know. I know he's right." Sparx grumpily admitted, transforming his hands into two red magnets, "But he doesn't have to be such a jerk about it."

Across the room, a black monkey held up his claws towards a metal pillar that was targeting him with several laser guns. They glowed with a powerful green energy that engulfed the opposing weapons before he jerked downwards, forcing several of the guns to snap off their supports. The remaining ones shot at him, but he to jolted to the side and avoided them completely.  
 _  
Hmmn, unfortunate. I was trying to destroy all of them in one go. I need to work harder if I want to master my psychokinesis..._

"Heh heh, technical difficulties Antauri?" Otto, the team's mechanic, teased him as he sliced through the left over laser weapons with one of his whirling saws. The thought of Antauri getting hurt wasn't amusing in the slightest, but the flustered look on his face sure was.

Antauri gave him a curt nod, slashing with his Ghost Claws at an incoming missile and jumping away as it exploded, "You could say that."

His green friend only got more giddy as a joke spawned, wiping the sweat off his brow and holding a finger up to waggle at him, "Seems to me like you need a tune-up and oil change Mister-AUUCK?!" he didn't get to finish when a spiked sphere smashed into his back, crushing him to the ground.

"Otto!" Antauri disposed of yet another missile before rocketing forwards, using his psychokinesis to grab the swinging ball and throw it into the opposing wall. The crash caught the attention of the rest of group.

Seeing a member of his team incapacitated, Mandarin snapped his gaze to the monkey closest to the controls, "Gibson! Shut it down now!" he barked as he pointed to the opposite end of the arena.

The scientist dodged a few incoming attacks before flying ahead and grabbing at the control pad. In a moment of fervent panic, he practically punched a few buttons with his finger tips before pulling the lever down, turning everything off.  
Immediately the heat wave went away as the temperature fell to normal degrees and all the weapons that were still intact descended back to their designated spots inside the Robot's walls.

Once it was safe, the rest of the group gathered around their injured companion, Antauri rolling him onto his back and trying to sit him up, "Can you hear me Otto?" he asked, a look of worry crossing his stern gaze.

Nova and Gibson were shoved aside as Mandarin came forward, a frown growing on his muzzle, "Come on, you can take bigger hits than that." he grumbled, his voice a mixture of both annoyance and confidence in that Otto wasn't that weak.

It seemed to work as the green monkey groaned in response, rubbing his chest, "Ugh...I feel like I was pummeled by a giant spiky ball..."

"You were, you idiot." their leader responded with only the briefest hint of teasing cadence in his voice even though his expression said otherwise. The orange simian even crossed his arms to insinuate this point.

The rest of the squad took notice, giving each other brief glances. Mandarin _never_ teased nor joked around other than to be condescending, but Otto was always an exception to this. No one knew why the two got along so well, but if they had to guess it was because they balanced each other well.  
Otto's goofy nature did a good job mellowing out Mandarin's vicious determination, more than usual at least, and Mandarin's iron will was an inspiration for Otto to work harder. For some reason these differences made them share a form of comradery over the others ever since they woke up in that robot.

"Oh...right." Otto weakly replied with a half-hearted smile before suddenly falling unconscious, the whirling part of his machinery dying out with a soft hum.

Everyone looked concerned besides their leader who only seemed briefly perturbed before he waved a hand, "He'll be fine, the ball just hit his energy pack. Lets take a break and get him to Med Bay, stat." he huffed as he turned around when Antauri picked their wounded mechanic up.

Greatly annoyed, Nova suddenly grabbed Mandarin's shoulder in a firm grip, refusing to flinch even after Mandarin shot her an evil look, "What do you want?"

"What I want is for your attitude to straighten out!" Nova spat, pointing to Otto as Antauri paused in his stride to look at the two, "He's your friend isn't he? He just got smeared into the floor and you're acting like you don't care!"

"I _do_ care, Nova." he bluntly retorted, grabbing her hand in a vice grip to force her to let go, "But unlike the rest of you, I know better than to let my emotions get the better of me. Distraction is the last thing you want in battle, especially if it gets you hurt. Case and point." he gestured back to Otto before moving on, "You'd all be best to remember that, especially you, Nova. I expected better."

Rubbing her paw in pain, Nova grumbled as the others followed behind the orange simian. Sparx put a hand on her back to guide her forward, "Hey, don't let him get to you." he whispered to her, "We all know he's just grumpy cause he's named after produce." he joked to lighten her mood.

It seemed to work when the signs of a smile tugged at the corners of her snarl. She had to admit that Sparx _COULD_ be funny on rare occasions.

Mandarin noticed how the two were lingering behind before moving past the others in large strides and grabbing Nova's hand, tugging her to make her walk with him, "The more you two fool around, the worse his condition will be. Get a move on, that's an order."

Shooting him a venomous gaze over his shoulder, the armor-clad monkey left Sparx behind as a resistant Nova was made to go with him until she yanked free of his grasp, sticking to Gibson's side in the back of the group.

If it were anyone else, they would have gotten a fist in their face for that little stunt. The only reason Mandarin got away with that kind of manhandling was because he was in charge. Didn't mean she had to like it.

Sparx ground his teeth a little as everyone else exited the training room together. He briefly thought about just staying behind to cool off, but his concern for Otto was greater than his disdain for Mandarin. Resigning himself with a sigh, he eventually followed them and closed the doors behind him.

* * *

In the Med Bay, Gibson was hard at work running several diagnostics on his computer screens and applying the necessary repairs. He worked with focused determination in his dark eyes, mumbling softly to himself about which parts go where and how the electrical currents needed to flow.

The Hyperforce stood in a half circle around the medical bed Otto was laying on. The mechanic had his back facing the ceiling to make it easier for Gibson to access, still unconscious from the pack's damage. Everyone was silent for the past several minutes, not knowing what to say in such a grim situation.

Finally the silence was broken when Sparx softly asked Gibson, "Is he going to be okay?"

Gibson had his back to the group on the adjacent wall, his eyes locked to the computer screen as he responded, "Yes yes, it would seem Mandarin was right about the energy pack. The impact was mostly absorbed by it, thankfully, and protected any vital organs. He'll be sore for a while, but our cybernetic friend will live to fight another day."

There was a sigh of relief as Gibson replaced Otto's pack with a new once, screwing it into place and jump starting it with a carefully pinpointed zap from his drill.

With a jolt, Otto jerked upwards so quickly that the group took a surprised step backwards. Mandarin was the exception as he instead snapped into a fighting stance in response to the false threat, his laser shield and sword drawn in record time.

"Whoa?!" Otto looked around, briefly on his hands and knees before he pulled himself into a sitting position and saw his robotic companions staring at him. Without missing a beat, he gave them a big goofy smile, "Heya guys! We gonna have a party or somethin'?"

Grunting, Mandarin put his weapons away and patted Otto's shoulder a few times, "Welcome back to the land of the living, old friend."

Otto's expression feel from innocent eagerness to dread, gawking at his leader, "Was...was I _dead?!"_

"Not exactly." Gibson wiped his hands off with a cloth as he walked to his bedside, "But you were momentarily discharged."

Nova took a step forward, her brow furrowing, "Don't you remember anything?"

"Eh, sorta? Now that I think about it." The green monkey raised a brow and tapped his chin a few times, looking into space, "Somethin' about technical difficulties and Antauri needin' an oil change...?"

"...What?" Sparx felt a smirk encroaching despite himself and gave Antauri an amused glance, to which the elder monkey shrugged in response.

The conversation was interrupted with a deliberate cough.

Casting their eyes over, they all looked at Mandarin who by now was a few steps away from Otto to better face the group head on. His arms were held behind his back and he wore a solemn gaze, "Monkey Team, as 'fun' as this chit chat is, I'm afraid we have more serious matters to discuss."

Shaking his head, he turned around to face the computer screen that Gibson had been running his diagnostics on, scanning over them, "This si the third time one of us has gotten hurt since we started these training exercises a few weeks ago. It's starting to become ridiculous."

He looked over his shoulder and shot an accusatory glance between the offending monkeys, addressing them as he went, "Nova, you busted up both of your arms so badly that it took you a week to recover, all because you got too sluggish cause of a little cold. Then with you, Gibson, you almost dislodged your tail cause you got overheated from forgetting to check your cooling tanks. It wasn't even as hot back then as it was this time."

"Give me a break." Nova growled, clenching her fingers together, "That temperature was far below freezing and my Robotic Fists locked up so I couldn't use them. How is that fair?"

Mandarin frowned, pointing at her, "The enemy won't play 'fair', Nova. We're not babies and I expect better from my hand to hand specialist than childish excuses. If we fought Skeleton King's Formless in the dead of winter at your current level, you'd be taken out in a matter of seconds. Is that what you want?"

She didn't answer him, just looked down to the ground and shuffled on her feet.

Gibson butted in with a grumble, "I would have been able to keep an eye on my temperature levels if _someone_ wasn't distracting me with their buffoonery." he growled, frowning over at an offended Sparx.

"H-Hey! Don't pin all your problems on me. I was just joking around a bit!" the red monkey insisted, waving his hands a few times, "How was I supposed to know you were dumb enough to let yourself get dehydrated?"

Gibson glowered at him, poking the other simian in the chest, "Oh _I'm_ the dumb one? How is constantly calling your teammate a 'Brain Strain' and making fun of his less than adequate jumping skills during a fight supposed to help _anyone_ in battle?! Did you ever think of that?!"

Sparx's tone was starting to reach a fevered pitch as Gibson pushed his buttons, "Well _MAYBE_ if you would stop criticizing me on every single tactic that I used, I wouldn't need to call you-"

 ** _"Ahem."_**

They both fell silent when Antauri's deep voice broke in, looking at them both like a father would to his rowdy kids, "If you are both quite done acting like children, I believe I've reached a conclusion. It seems that we aren't quite ready for such a difficult training session without getting seriously hurt."

"I agree." Mandarin chimed, walking towards them with a disappointed stare, "It would seem I overestimated your abilities, Monkey Team, and now I'm at a loss of what to do for our next few exercises..."

Antauri frowned at his words and the dejected looks of his robotic companions. Thinking of a solution, he reached out an patted Mandarin on the back a few times to get their leader's attention, "If I may make a suggestion, why don't we try this? How about we continue with these sessions, but turn it down a notch. The same theme still applies but in a less extreme manner."

"Hmmn...a simplified version, huh?" Mandarin pondered quietly to himself. Antauri was the only one of the group that he would ever consider taking suggestions from, especially when it came to his own ideas. After thinking for a moment, a tiny smile broke across his face, "Antauri, that's a great idea."

Turning to everyone again, he cleared his throat, "Starting next week, we will resume our training anew. However, this time it'll be tweaked slightly. Since I can't trust you all to work as a team in such conditions, I'm going to train each of you individually until you perfect it on your own. Then we'll see about working as a group again."

Everyone was a little taken aback and Antauri tried to back peddle some, "Mandarin, is that wise? Making us work alone could be even more dangerous than as a group."

"That's why I will personally be there for each and every one of you if something should go wrong." He assured the dark-furred monkey, "It will take some extra time, but I think it'll be worth it in the end."

The older simian nodded at him, but a frown made itself known the longer he stood there. Antauri couldn't place his finger on it, but there was something...off about how Mandarin was going about this. A strange kind of glee rested in his tone, as if he had come up with a secret plan on the spot.

Still, he decided to keep his suspicions to himself. It wasn't fair to go after their leader like this when he doesn't have a scrap of proof. For all he knew, perhaps he was just happy that they found a solution to their problem.

Nova however felt a chill run up her spine as such an eerie thought of being _alone_ with _Mandarin_ for a one on one training sessions. The very notion creeped her out and put a bad pit in her stomach. A squirmy feeling that made her frustration and resentment towards the orange monkey turn into anger.

Sparx seemed to agree with her as he vibrantly shook his head, "Uh uh no _way_ am I doing that! You're out of your mind if you think I'm gonna let you hammer me with your lectures and-"

His voice fell when he saw the glare his leader was giving him. Monkey doodle, if looks could **_kill_** he was sure he would have exploded a second later.

Hesitating, Sparx tried to deflect the uncomfortable feeling between them, "C-Could you at least give me some time? It's going to take more than week to mentally prepare myself to bask in your radiance. Ha ha...ha...?"

Mandarin didn't laugh. Didn't even grin.

Instead he furrowed his brows at his companion and said lowly, "I'm sorry, did I say this was a vote? No, this is an order and you're going to follow it, Sparky."

He turned his red eyes from am unnerved Sparx to the rest, "I know it seems frivolous, but team, can't you see that we _need_ these sessions? Skeleton King has all sorts of horrifying powers in his wake, the weather could be one of them or at the very least accompanying one of his monsters. If we can't fight in less ideal conditions, he'd easily take us down in seconds and destroy Shuggazoom. I refuse to let him rip _MY_ city away from me, got it?"

No one liked how he said that in such a possessive manner, but in the moment no one dared question him when he was already on edge.

Getting the hint, he nodded, "Good. You're all dismissed." he looked to Otto, "You however need rest. I better not see you out of this room without Gibson's go-ahead or I swear I will carry you back in myself."

"Awwww..." Otto whined, not picking up on the increasing tension in the air, "But medical beds are so uncomfortable. I'll never be able to sleep."

Only a tiny chortle that vaguely resembled laughter left Mandarin as he patted the bed a few times, "And your workshop that I constantly have to drag you out of is any better? You'll live."

His playful tone left him as soon as he noticed the others giving him a weird look, scowling, "Are you guys deaf? I said you were dismissed." He pushed past them and walked to the exit, "If anyone needs me, I'll be meditating in my room."

"I'll accompany you." Antauri offered, following after him, "I need to hone my skills in the Power Primate."

Mandarin gave him a crooked grin in that patronizing way only he could, "That's because you're not a natural like me, Antauri."

"Quite." he responded without a hint of irritation, leaving the rest of the group with Otto as the doors shut behind them.

As soon as he was sure they were out of earshot, Sparx angrily kicked the side of the bed, "Ugh! How can Antauri put up with that...that...little orange pain?!"

"I know." Nova groaned, shaking her head, "It took every ounce of willpower I had not to slug him in his smug little face."

The red monkey snickered to himself as he rubbed the foot he used, "Maybe one of the gifts the Power Primate gives Antauri is an unending patience for idiots."

"Illogical. If that were true, Sparx, then Mandarin would be a little less on edge thanks to the Power Primate." Gibson pointed out, organizing some of his beakers while he was there and not noticing the annoyed look his friend gave him for missing the joke. He was surprised though when Gibson teased, "Then again, maybe it's not general incompetence that annoys him, but you."

"Wha- _ME?!_ Why would Mandarin target me?" he gave exaggerated gestures to himself, "I didn't even do anything to the guy!"

Gibson had a smirk that just wouldn't leave his face, "I'm not insinuating anything. I'm just saying that you do seem to get the brunt of his ire. I mean, how many of us has he given pet names to just to get an angry reaction? Just you, _Sparky."_

Sparx was about to retort until Otto interrupted, "Aw come on guys, give Mandarin a break. He's really stressed out about being the leader, ya know. Yeah he's grumpy but he's not so bad when you get past it. In fact he's pretty fun to hang out with. Haven't any of you seen his high game score lately? That was an all night session we had and he still wanted to train in the mornin'."

"Hmph, we all know he's a perfectionist. Of course he'd want to be the best at everything, even video games." The red monkey grumbled, the thought of Mandarin being a swell guy a foreign concept to him, "No offense Otto, but you're just saying that cause you're chummy with the creep."

"He's not a creep." Otto pouted at him, "I mean it, he's really not that bad. He's just trying his best, yeah? If you'd just stop fightin' with him and give Mandarin a chance I think you two could be friends."

"...Maybe Otto's right." Gibson chimed in, much to both of their surprise, "Look Sparx, I don't like him much either, but he is still our leader. He was picked for a reason, and the Power Primate is the strongest within him. He's new to being in charge and protecting an entire city, maybe even the planet, from an abomination like Skeleton King. It doesn't give him an excuse to be so, eh, disagreeable...but maybe we can at least try giving him the benefit of the doubt."

The image of his arrogant grin crossed Nova's mind the moment she pictured him, forcing the yellow warrior to clench her fists tightly, anger briefly gripping her, "...Hmph, emphasis on the word 'try' Gibson."

"Pleaaase?" Otto gave the three of them big eyes, "I don't like it when everyone's arguin'. We're supposed to be a team, right?"

A moment of awkward silence fell over the room until Nova exhaled loudly. She was quicker to relent than the others, "...Aw, you know I can't say no to that face." They smirked at one another, "...But if he grabs at me again like he did earlier I wont be able to stop his face from meeting the floor."

Gibson and Sparx exchanged glances before the blue monkey let out an exasperated sigh, "It wouldn't hurt I suppose. Sparx, I'm sorry about the name calling. It was immature of me."

"Yeah...I'm sorry about the training exercise. I really didn't mean for your tail to get hurt." Sparx scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not used to swallowing his pride. The next part was harder to agree to, but he had to relent under Otto's admittedly innocent gaze, "...And I _guess_...I'll give Mandarin a chance."

"Yay!" Otto jerked his arms upwards in his small victory, only to wince and lower them at once, "Ow, ow, ow."


	2. An Eruption of Hate

_**Chapter 2: An Eruption of Hate**_

For better or for worse, the day everyone was dreading had come.

Most of the group minus Antauri and Mandarin were in the lobby of the ship, sitting at their table and having breakfast. As Gibson read through a new textbook he got the other day while munching on his toast, he was vaguely aware of Otto poking him in the shoulder.

"Hey." the mechanic excitedly prodded him, "You've been lettin' the rest of your food sit there for a while. Are ya gonna finish it?"

Gibson didn't take his eyes off his book, but he could practically feel Otto's black orbs digging into the side of his face, "...Help yourself, just don't make a mess." he mumbled, much to the green monkey's delight as he snatched up the food in his paws.

Across the table, Nova was eating a few oranges and apples as Sparx finished up his bacon, grinning at her cheekily, "My offer still stands, you know. You get tired of just fruit in the morning, I'm more than happy to share my food." he gave her a flirty wink, scooting an inch closer, "Or maybe just my company whenever you're lonely. This is an awfully big robot..."

Nova grimaced at their pilot before slowly reaching out and placing her hand to the back of his head. This confused him for a moment when he suddenly saw stars as his forehead was slammed into the table with such force it knocked some of the silverware and dishes into the air, "Sorry Sparx, but I don't have much of an appetite in the morning." she claimed over his agonized groans.

"Nova! Sparx! Can you two PLEASE not have your antics at the table?!" Gibson scolded, taking a napkin and wiping the coffee he was drinking off of his book, "If you must fight, take it outside."

The female monkey smiled wide as she crossed her arms in satisfaction, "We aren't fighting." she corrected as Sparx rubbed his forehead in pain, "Juuuust having a lesson in manners, right?" she cast her pink eyes to him as he dimly nodded in response.

Otto chuckled, leaning his elbows on the table, "Need me to fix your noggin?" he pointed to the dent the table impact had left in his skullcap.

Sparx sighed before shaking his head, swearing that his brain was throbbing, "Later. Mandarin's gonna be here any second and he'll think I'm trying to make excuses if I slink off with you for repairs."

"Ooohhh." the adjacent monkey nodded before picking at the fork on his plate a few times, having already engulfed the food Gibson gave him, "Is it cause Mandarin's gonna pick ya first?"

Sparx's dark eyes immediately snapped upwards to look at Otto, who seemed oblivious to what he implied, "H-How...How do you know he's going to pick me for this stupid little test first?" He tried to not sound so nervous, but it slipped into his normally even tone.

"I dunno." Otto shrugged, "He's always talkin' bout ya bein' a weak link and all. I figured he'd wanna iron ya out first."

Sparx was about to retaliate when Nova came to his defense, "Hey, Sparx may be a pain, but he's NOT a weak link. Gah, that's really rude of you, Otto." she snarled at him.

The red pilot stared at her, a little shocked that she did such a thing. It's not like Nova was the type that wouldn't stand up for her friends, but it was so rare that she came to his aid outside of battle that it left him momentarily floored.

Their mechanic found himself scrambling when he realized that they thought he was agreeing with their leader, "I-I'm not sayin' he is! I don't think that at all, really, I was just repeatin' what Mandarin said. We may be friends but I don't always take his side. All of ya know that."

Though his words were comforting, the yellow monkey growled and slammed her paws on the table loud enough to make the other three jump, "Oh ho, but he still thinks we have a weak link huh? This isn't just about Sparx being thrown under the bus, guys. If he thinks so lowly of his own teammate, what's the point of following him?! UGH." A tiny smile crept onto her features much to Otto's dismay, "...You know what? Let him pick _me_ first, I'll show him who's-"

"Show me what?"

Sparx could have sworn he saw her get a few shades lighter as she whipped around.

Mandarin and Antauri were standing side by side in the doorway. Their leader put his hands on his hips and inclined his head to the side, staring coldly, "...Your commander is on deck."

They all snapped to attention, jumping from their seats and standing straight with their arms to their sides and their tails pointed upwards.

Satisfied, he took a few steps forward and rested his hands behind his back, "At ease, Hyperforce." When they relaxed their bodies, Antauri walked by and stood next to Sparx as the orange simian continued, "After some mental preparation and one more systems check, we're ready to begin. I expect great things from everyone."

The way he said that didn't inspire much confidence. In fact, it was just as disappointed and judgemental as their failed exercise last week. It seemed the only way to get his gratitude, fickle as that may be, was to truly perform to his exact specifications. A feat that was nearly impossible even for their most skilled members.

"...Well!" Otto chirped, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "You guys ready to get started?" Though he was trying to sound excited to lighten the mood, even he had to admit that a twinge of nerves tugged at him. They strained everyone's circuits, it seemed. After all, Mandarin's exercises could be...brutal at times and tensions were already high enough.

As per usual, their normally cantankerous commander showed his favoritism to Otto with a small smirk, "...As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm, my friend, I think I'll be starting with Nova instead."

She felt herself bristle when his red eyes fell upon her, her tail curling behind her anxiously, "I-I...um...me?" The inquiry came in the form of a stammer before she quickly readjusted herself, "You want us to go now?"

"Correct." Without wasting another moment, he turned around and walked out through the door, "I'll come for Gibson next when our session is over."

The scientist shuddered in place as Nova pawed at her fingers some, "...Just us? You and me...?" she asked, as if needing confirmation one more time.

Mandarin paused in his stride, turning around to face her again. She felt her tail lash irritably at the incredulous look on his face as if to scold her for being stupid, "...Yeah?" he raised a brow, "That's the entire point here. Our group is too distracting to one another, so each of us have to do this alone without everyone gawking through the glass. Only reason I'm going is to make sure none of you perish in the process...and to evaluate your performance."

For just the tiniest moment, she saw a look of sinister satisfaction cross his gaze before it was right back to that smug indifference. It made her insides twist to an uncomfortable degree, like a rubber band being stretched to the point of snapping.

. _..What's he up to?_

She squirmed in place some when he gestured by cocking his head to the door, "The longer we sit around, the longer I'm going to make the session."

The warrior knew it wasn't a threat, but a promise, as he went right back to walking in the hall. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she glanced over to see Antauri giving her a comforting squeeze. His green eyes blinked slowly at her pink ones, "Go on Nova, we eagerly await your return. Remember, Mandarin has a method to his madness and only wants what's best for the team. You included."

Though his words were comforting, she couldn't stop that dread that was growing in her chest. It was the instinct she had as a fighter to predict when something bad was going to happen, yet she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Patting his paw a few times with her own, she jogged up to Mandarin before shutting the doors behind them, cutting them off from the rest of the team in the lobby.

For a while, the duo was quiet with the only sound in the metal corridors being the steady grinding and whirring of their circuitry and mechanical joints. The two of them walked next to each other with Nova staying more than an arm's length from him, refusing to make look at him for as long as she could.

The orange commander noticed the exaggerated distance, his eyes glancing at her before he breathed in deeply, "...I don't bite, Nova."

"No, but you don't keep your paws to yourself either." she snapped right back, still holding a grudge for the other day.

Like she predicted, the he only rolled his eyes, "Please, are you still on about that? It wasn't a big-"

"Oh yeah?" she snarled, gritting her sharp teeth, "Would _YOU_ want someone grabbing and jerking you around like a disobedient pet? I'm not a malfunctioning toy, Mandarin, I'm an equal part of this team and I want you to start treating me as such." Her voice was harsher than she ever intended to use around him, but she had been silently stewing about this since a week ago and now it was spilling out.

Mandarin said nothing in response, instead darting his eyes back to the hallway again. The silence enraged her more than a curt insult would have.

 _You could at least_ _ **try**_ _apologizing, creep._

She was practically screaming at him in her mind, wanting to smack some sense into the guy both metaphorically and literately, but held her tongue. As pissed as she was, she vaguely remembered her promise to Otto and would attempt to smooth things over with him even if he was about as much fun as a virus.

Breathing deeply to calm down her rising heart rate, she awkwardly broke the silence between them again, "...So...Otto told me you finally made the highest score in Space Encounters of the Gross Kind...?"

He gave her a look that would have probably made her laugh if it was anyone but their pain-in-the-butt leader. She did get a bit of cathartic pleasure at seeing him caught of guard for once, though, "...Yes. Not that much of a challenge, but I finally beat him at his own game."

"Like you did with Gibson at chess the other night." she added on, earning a nearly genuine smirk from Mandarin even if it was mostly fueled by pride, "...I wonder who was more difficult." she laughed lightly, as hard as that was.

"Neither." came his answer in the form of a sneer, patting his chest haphazardly a few times, "Anything can be overcome with grit and I have enough to last me for the next thousand years."

Her smile was wiped clean off her face as soon as those words left his mouth.

 _...Otto you owe me big for this. He's killing me here._

Nova felt stupid for talking about something so trivial, but despite their alliance she knew very little about him. She wasn't aware of his interests other than working them all to the gear and that amusement he got from besting someone.

Now that she thought of it...she had never even been alone with Mandarin, not like this. Oh sure, they had their occasional passing glances, a patrol here or there, a sparing match or two, but as far as getting to know each other? Never. That a 'luxury' usually reserved for Otto or maybe Antauri from time to time.

Not that she was interested because their odious leader had the appeal of a wet rag, but the realization made her visibly shudder. This meant that Mandarin could be unpredictable or twice as unpleasant when he wasn't keeping up appearances for the group.

She knew she had to trust him because of who he was, yet...she just _didn't_ for some reason.

The yellow warrior regretted having her uncertainty get the better of her because she heard him speak up, "Nervous, Nova?" his voice oozing with self-righteous criticism.

The orange monkey couldn't stop a smirk from growing on his face when she cast her angry pink eyes at him in a glare. Good, he had wanted that from her this whole time. Mandarin wasn't stupid, he knew how she and the others felt about him and could honestly care less.

They didn't have to be his buddies, they just had to follow his orders and not drag him down with them. Her little attempt at being chummy was annoying and wouldn't help her with what he had in store.

After carefully watching all of his team members over the months and pinpointing their strengths and weaknesses, he knew Nova's greatest adversary was definitely her rage. He would tap into that...and maybe vindictively knock her down a peg in the process for her little outbursts lately.

He was their leader after all...and he was going to give this insolent warrior a crushing reminder of just how weak she is in comparison.

Her leer seemed to wilt some when the nasty look in his red orbs grew more menacing by the second. Then just like that her resolve hardened again and she countered him with a malevolent snarl.

Mandarin's dark smirk twisted into a full blown sneer, some of his sharp teeth showing in the process.

Ah...there it was. **_This_** was the Nova he wanted.

Her anger was a little bit fascinating to him, admittedly. Being the only female on their team, she had caught his attention and forced him to become possessive of her for selfish reasons of course, yet he saw a hint of potential in her if she would stop being so frivolous with that idiot of a pilot.

Nova's brash attitude towards his tightening grip only intrigued him more, making him want to snuff it out as if it were yet another challenge for him to overcome. It was like a joyful game of cat and mouse, only in this case she was a rat and he was a vicious viper slowly toying with his prey before consuming it.

He saw the training room coming up, and his smile only grew more wicked as he turned his head to face it.

Oh yes...she would learn her lesson as would all of them thanks to Antauri's innocent suggestion for these solo exercises. He didn't have much reason to hold back when they were by themselves, his true purpose to these new sessions coming to fruition in his mind.

If they weren't going to better themselves through cooperation and team work, he would make them stronger by breaking them...

* * *

Meanwhile back in the lobby, Gibson was fiddling around with the camera controls so they would be able to watch the session without being present. It was his idea after all and Mandarin didn't seem to mind so long as they continued to stay out of the training room.

"Just a few more adjustments and...there." the blue monkey turned the knob on the controls just a little bit more until the training room camera had adjusted to their liking. With a clear picture but no audio, the remaining group could see Mandarin guiding Nova into the arena before shutting the door behind her and waiting behind the glass window.

Otto frowned, pointing to the tiny figures on the monitor, "Um...is it just me, or does Nova look really angry? Like...about to explode angry?"

"She's with our _wonderful_ commander. What else is new?" Sparx grumbled sarcastically, only to pause when Otto gave him a look, "...Sorry, sorry, shutting up."

Antauri scratched his chin some, his brow starting to knit together, "...I hope that's not the case. Her rage has been steadily growing the past few weeks. I'm worried that it could boil over if she doesn't get a handle on it."

"Bah come on, this is Nova we're talking about." the red pilot monkey waved a hand, "She wouldn't let a jerk, er...guy...like Mandarin push her over the edge. She'll cool down in a minute."

"Right, she already has you to get under her wires." Gibson replied smugly, earning an annoyed grunt from Sparx.

"They're commencing the exercise." Antauri intervened before they could get into it, tapping a finger on a button to zoom in more, "Quiet down and observe closely. We all need to learn from this so we can be better prepared for Skeleton King's forces."

Grimacing some, the two stopped their bickering and paid attention to the screen, watching closely to see how Nova would handle herself alone.

* * *

After making sure the latch was shut tight, Mandarin stood on the opposite side of the glass to Nova, knocking on it a few times, "Comfy?"

"Very funny." she barked back, having had enough at this point, "Lets just get this over with."

Instead of looking angry, he gave her the most vicious grin she had ever seen in her short life. It wasn't cheeky or goofy or even calm like the rest of her squad would normally do. This was downright creepy and completely unique to Mandarin alone. It gripped her spine in terror but she refused to show it in her broad stance.

After a few more seconds of tense silence, Mandarin's grin faded to that, now comforting, look of boredom he always had as he punched in a few calculations on the keypad in front of him, "As you wish."

The temperature in the room immediately began to fall, making Nova's eyes widen. She knew that this was going to be a weather exercise, and that he was most likely going to use the cold on her since it was her weakest element, but the sobering realization of it actually happening that moment was starting to get to her.

He seemed to sense this as he turned the dial on his controls up slightly, ducking his head and lowly adding, "Lets start with movement for this round. The premise is simple, Nova. All you gotta do is keep moving no matter how freezing I make it. Keep that up and we'll go on to fighting techniques in the cold."

Not wanting to be intimidated any further and get through it, Nova nodded and glanced up to the camera that she knew the others were watching her from. Winking and giving it a thumbs up, she began to practice her acrobats around the gradually cooling arena. She hopped, tip-toed, flipped, even did a few fancy pirouettes in the air just to show off and rub it in his face. To say she was enjoying this was an understatement.

Not to mention she knew that the others would be watching them on camera as well as their own frustrations with their commander. Might as well help them release some of that tension in a form of retribution, right?

The watching monkeys back in the lobby seemed to realize what she was doing and couldn't help but give one another small smiles besides Otto, who was staring intently at the screen with big black eyes.

Sparx tapped the counter with his knuckles some, laughing, "Atta' girl. Don't give up, you can do this."

"Look." Otto pointed to Mandarin, "I think he's startin' to turn it down more."

Like them, Mandarin was quick to catch on to her little stunt, calling her out by decreasing the temperature further, "Very good." he praised in a condescending manner of course, "Now summon your transformers and show me a few of your moves."

Nova stopped hopping around and chewed her lip when she could feel her heat cells starting to work harder to accommodate for the cold. It was starting to approach below freezing, right about the temperature that her fists locked up in last time.

 _No._

She scolded herself in her mind as she clenched her Robotic Fists tightly.

 _Not this time. Not with_ _ **him**_ _watching me._

Snarling, she began to force herself to work against the ever growing ice clogging her joints as she threw several different punches, crying out each battle move as loudly as she could.

 _Boom Boom Wake up!_

 _Lady Tomahawk!_

 _Flame Fist Fury!_

Each attack was more vicious, but sloppy, than the last as Mandarin continued to mercilessly make things colder. Ice and condensation were beginning to form on the walls of the arena, much to her dismay.

Her heat cells were now working in overdrive, but even they weren't enough. Inevitably, she was to tired to keep moving, but as soon as Nova stopped to take a breather she found that it was so freezing now, her circuitry was starting to lock up. This time it wasn't just her fists but her entire body. It was way worse than the last training exercise.

Antauri frowned when he saw Nova stop her movements on the screen, chewing his bottom lip a few times, "...What is she doing? If she doesn't keep moving her heat cells wont be able to keep up."

"How can she?" Sparx mumbled, the smile he once had fading quickly, "That temperature is way below freezing in there, far more than before. None of us would be able to handle that!" the red monkey started to turn around, "I'm gonna go give him a piece of my mind. He's going too far-"

"Sparx." Antauri took him by the wrist to stop him, "Mandarin is trying to make us stronger, however, you know he's not going to hurt her. He's just trying to help Nova ready herself in the freezing cold. She may seem uncomfortable, but I'm certain that she'll be able to overcome and conquer. We need to trust in her to do this...else you'll anger her even more than Mandarin if you don't give her a chance."

He frowned to his mentor, but reluctantly stopped his pursuit to the training room and turned his eyes back to the screen, "...I hope you're right."

Meanwhile, Nova was making herself smaller when she tried to conserve as much body heat as she possibly could. Teeth chattering, she hugged herself and twisted around to look at Mandarin, only to flinch.

The jerk was SMILING at her from ear to ear. Not a grin or even a smirk, but a fully blown leer of smug satisfaction.

She didn't like the fact that we was suddenly all smiles. The female monkey never thought she would prefer his grouchy indifference, but at least that was familiar. That she could handle and somewhat predict. _This_ side of Mandarin was not only foreign, but deep down in the recesses of her soul, it terrified her.

Trying to swallow it down, she said in a jittery way, "M-M-Mand-d-arin! Th-Thi-This is t-too m-m-much! S-Stop it!" She tried to sound as bold as she normally did, but that was hard when you were freezing your tail off.

She waited for a response, any kind, even a snarky comeback, but it never came. Instead, his smile grew sinister and she saw him turn up the dial.

"M-M-Ma-Ma-Mand-?!" was all the could get out before her shaking got so bad she could no longer speak. Desperate, she twisted her body so she wouldn't have to look at him and tried to wrap her tail around herself in a vain attempt to fight off the chill. Unfortunately, it offered little help as she felt both of her organic and mechanical body parts begin to fail on her.

The orange monkey was quite proud of what he was seeing with Nova looking so vulnerable and her confidence completely drained from her features. He was getting to her and hew knew it. Sooner or later, she'd have to break down and beg for his help like the sniveling child she was. Maybe then he could build her up into a warrior that was actually worthy of fighting alongside him.

 _Pain is the true lesson here, my dear Nova. One I'm happy to teach all of you if it means keeping my planet out of Skeleton King's clutches._

Smile ever growing, he turned the temperature down twice as much, far lower than any normal monkey would ever be able to survive. She was cybernetic though, so he knew it wouldn't kill her in the end. Would definitely hurt though.

As Nova continued to be helpless in that horrible icy grip, hysterical thoughts began to enter her fleeting mind.

 _Why is he doing this? Why is our_ _ **leader**_ _doing this? No authority figure should ever be so cruel, so sadistic. We didn't get along, but did that mean I deserved this? Do I really deserve this in his mind?_

She shuddered, her eyes drifting to the camera on the wall as if silently begging for help.

 _Where are the others? Cant they see that this is wrong? That he's going way too far? Why isn't anyone helping me?_

The anger that had been simmering this whole time began to rise and rise in unison to the steadily dropping temperature around her.

 _Mandarin, stupid, stupid, jerk face Mandarin! Why is he so horrible to us? Why is he just sitting there with that smile of his, laughing at me?! Laughing at me like this is all one big joke?! Like I'm some sniveling baby?! This isn't funny! This isn't fair!_

Her desperation overrode her pride as she reached an emotional breaking point, "P-P-Ple-Plea-Please..." Her voice barely came out in a squeak that no one would be able to hear other than herself. She had a feeling even if her had heard it Mandarin wouldn't have listened anyway.

The cruel simian only made it worse by turning down the knob as far as it would go, making the temperature the equivalent of an ice age.

She shivered and chattered, shaking violently in place as seconds turned to minutes, her own arms and tail no longer giving her warmth as comfort but icy chills as the metal began to match the walls in their condensation.

Her fear warped into pure rage when it all dawned on her at once. Her hysterical thoughts turning irrational in that moment.

 _Wait a second...he's actually trying to break me down! He was planning it this whole time, wasn't he?_

She hissed to herself, too cold to even turn her head in his direction.

 _Is this what he wanted? All that big talk about protecting the City from Skeleton King...a mere means to an end? To rile us up so we could be his perfect little monkey team? That...THAT...!_

Suddenly...her heat cells began to become effective again. Things were getting slightly warmer the longer she thought about him standing behind that glass with that stupid grin of his. Her rage boiling over into something she never could have fathomed she was capable of.

 _I-I hate him! I_ _ **hate**_ _you Mandarin! I hate you so much I just wanna...I just wanna see you burn!_

It was going from warm to hot.

Extremely hot.

So hot, in fact, that any ice she had on her body melted away as she was beginning to be enveloped in searing flames that burned everything around her. The reinforced metal of the room under her feet started to have the consistency of putty the hotter she became.

Her fury rising to a devastating degree, she had the strength and the drive to finally look over her shoulder at him again, eyes glowing a bright pink and sharp teeth bared at her leader's direction.

His smile was gone now, replaced with a look of fear and confusion. Two things that were extremely rare to see from Mandarin. A light began to glow within the flames around her figure, glowing so brightly that the orange simian had to squint his eyes to protect him.

He could only stare as his mouth began to drop open, vaguely hearing the worried voice of Antauri come in over his communicator, _"Mandarin?! What's going on? We can't see anything. The room is too bright and heat levels are reaching a critical point! You and Nova are in danger! You need to stop the exercise now!"_

Too little too late, her body could no longer contain the searing hatred she held towards him.

 ** _Why don't you just melt into a useless puddle of orange!_**

Mandarin finally tried to speak again, "N-Nov-"

Too late.

She roared.

 ** _"GAAAHHHHHHH!"_**


	3. A Simple Test

_**Chapter 3: A Simple Test**_

Everyone in the lobby watched in horror as so much light shot out from the screen they had to shield their eyes.

"What's happenin'?!" Otto cried, cupping his hands over his face completely.

"I don't know!" Antauri growled, "Mandarin's not responding! I can't-"

 _ **BOOM!**_

An explosion ruptured one of the walls of the robot, forcing the huge machine to lurch forwards. The abrupt movement knocked them painfully to the ground as the room gradually tilted thanks to the weight of the Super Robot bringing it down.

Thinking quickly, Gibson jumped towards the controls and tapped a few buttons, making their fighting machine lean backwards just enough to balance itself out and keep them from toppling over.

Breathing heavily as his adrenaline died down, Gibson rested his elbow on the control pad and pressed his forehead into the crook of his arm. Soon enough the others picked themselves up, Antauri patting the scientist on the back a few times in a silent praise for his resourcefulness.

The relief was short lived though when they noticed that the feed to the training room was completely black, its camera destroyed beyond belief.

With a dread gripping his chest and dribbling down to his stomach, Sparx practically screamed, "N-NOVA!" before turning tail and springing to the corridor.

"Sparx wait for us!" Otto called after him, but the red monkey ignored him and kept going as fast as his legs could move.

* * *

It all happened in a flash. One moment, Mandarin was standing there behind the window of the training arena, the next he was gone along with most of the wall.

The glow that had previously shone as bright as the sun faded from Nova's form, the female monkey still panting heavily from her enraged outburst. Very slowly, she came down from her furious high and the dust began to settle as she regained her senses.

Blinking a few times, Nova looked around the room in confusion. The floor and walls of the arena were completely destroyed, a mixture of molten material and twisted wires marring their once pristine surfaces.

The only thing the she could do in that moment was stare, unable to comprehend what her eyes were seeing.

 _What...happened? All I remember is being mad and everything getting so hot...then..._

She looked at the ground before her, the metal caved in and still fiery hot from the heat that had come from her body.

 _Did..._ _ **I**_ _do this...?_

Just then, she remembered what happened and snapped her gaze up to where Mandarin had been standing before. A wave of burning energy had exploded from the yellow warrior's body, carrying her rage right along with it.

The shock wave was powerful enough to buckle the surface of the training room like they were nothing and shatter the glass Mandarin was behind, throwing the orange primate viciously through the air and smashing him into the adjacent wall across from her.

Any color Nova had drained from her face when she realized she could see Mandarin's broken body through the shattered window. He was still embedded into that wall, eyes wide and mouth fixed in a silent scream.

"M-Mandarin!" she cried, hopping over the broken floor and working her way through the rubble to reach him. Her thoughts and feelings were going a million miles a minute, heart pounding so hard it was deafening in her audio receptors.

She didn't like him, not one bit, but he was still their _leader._ Their chosen one. Their orange commander that would ultimately give his life to protect Shuggazoom from the forces of evil, and she had just...just...

"Please! Please don't be...y-you can't be..." she stammered hysterically, reaching her hands upwards to gingerly pry Mandarin from the metal of the wall. Unfortunately, he was so deep inside of it he didn't budge no matter how much she tugged at him.

Getting desperate, she called to to him, "M-Mandarin! Mandarin can you hear me? Y-You're stuck, I...I can't get you loose. You need to help me get you out, please. S-Say something, anything! I'll even take one of your stupid insults if you o-only..."

Nothing. His face was still that same permanent shriek and he hadn't even twitched a finger.

Fear gripped her as she summoned her Robotic Fists, looking up at him.

 _What have I done?!_

Was all she could think before she began to smash the metal surrounding his body, bending it more away from him as she did. Finally, with one more hit the wall had buckled enough so that he slipped out. She caught him as he fell into her arms, gripping him tightly in a frightened embrace and hoping, praying, she could feel any kind of heartbeat this close.

Relief swelled in her chest when she could hear the faintest breathing coming from his mouth, even if it was more of a pained wheeze.

Leaning downwards, she rested Mandarin's body on the ground, kneeling next to him and not knowing what else to do. She wasn't a doctor, she didn't know the inner workings of machines. Those departments belonged to Gibson and Otto.

Just then, she nearly jumped five feet into the air when Mandarin's eyes snapped to her direction when the rest of his body didn't move. His breathing was heavier now, like he was just waking up from a terrifying nightmare. It was if he was silently scolding her with his cold red gaze.

She didn't know what to say to him. What _could_ she say? Sorry wasn't enough to cut it and they both knew that.

"Nova!"

She jolted at the sound of Sparx's voice, turning her head over her shoulder to see the red monkey running at them without even pausing to look at the carnage of the room, "Are you okay?" he practically skidded next to her, pressing his hands into her shoulders.

"I-I-" she stumbled for a moment, giving him a look of fear that honestly scared him just as much as her, "I...I don't know. M-Mandarin is-"

He blinked and looked down to their fallen leader, gulping at the sight. He was in bad shape, his circuitry was sticking out of random broken areas in his arms and body. His skullcap was badly dented and sparks of electricity fizzled around his broken frame. Never had he seen him look so...vulnerable before.

The others soon spilled into the room in a hurry, Otto being the first to be at Mandarin's side as always. He tried to help his leader up to his feet, but he only limply laid in the frightened mechanic's arms.

The orange simian wheezed painfully into his friend's shoulder, reaching up with broken fingers to try and grip at the rim of his green helmet for support, "...O-Oo-Oottoo..."

"No speakin'!" Otto ordered, looking uncharacteristically distraught as he swiveled to Gibson who had been inspecting the damage to the Super Robot's walls, "We need to get 'im to the Med Bay right now!"

Gibson turned away from the broken mechanics and jogged over to the exit, slamming his palm on the button to open it before swinging his arm wildly, "Quickly! There's no time to waste!"

As the mechanic tried to drag Mandarin along, he winced when their commander groaned in agony as a response as he didn't have the strength to lift his legs. His gravely voice becoming strained, Otto cried to his red teammate, "S-Sparx! It's too dangerous to hold 'im, we need ya to use your magnets to carry Mandarin without touchin' 'im. Please!"

Sparx hesitated. Not because of his dislike towards their leader, but because of the state Nova was in. She was in shock, breathing heavily and staring at the rest of them with large horrified pink eyes. He wanted to help her calm down just a little more before leaving the female monkey alone...

"I'll take care of Nova." Antauri's voice broke through his conflicted mind, "Right now, our leader needs you." he assured him, seemingly sensing Sparx's worry for Nova in that moment. He was concerned for them both, but he also knew that if Nova had somehow caused this with her anger, letting her emotions run array could spell disaster for the rest of the team.

Though Sparx was extremely hesitant, he let his hands linger for just a little longer on Nova's shoulders before pulling away and standing up. Summoning his magnets, he used their electrical energy to gently lift Mandarin into the air and twist him so that he was hovering on his back. With a nod to indicate he was ready, the three monkeys quickly left the room with him while Antauri and Nova stayed behind in their wrecked training arena.

Once they were gone, the black monkey moved so he was on his knees and facing Nova at eye level. She wasn't looking at him head on, still hyperventilating and keeping her eyes to the ground between them. Frowning softly, he reached up and cupped her cheek, forcing the yellow monkey to jolt out of her panic and dart her eyes into his gaze.

Keeping his hand on her cheek in an effort to keep her calm, he spoke slowly and gently, "Nova...what happened in here? I've never seen this display of power before. I-"

"I got m-mad, okay!" she barked back, making Antauri flinch and remove his hand at the volume of her voice, "Mandarin was making it too c-cold and l-laughing at me and...and...!" her voice died into a whimper, tears threatening to sting her eyes. It only upset her even more.

 _Monkey doodle, not here, not now. Please don't you dare cry in front of Antauri._

There was one thing Nova hated more than Skeleton King himself and that was being seen as a coward. As a sniveling little female monkey that couldn't match up to her powerful male counterparts. She didn't resent them for it, but she also knew how it was hard for anyone outside of the team to take the little yellow monkey with big pink eyes seriously when compared to the others.

So to sit here all weepy and whiny didn't suit her at all, and she was doing her best to keep those tears in check else suffer the ultimate humiliation. Antauri was the most gentle and understanding of them all...and that only made her want to come off as stronger in front of him.

He wasn't stupid. He could see how her pride was battling her sorrow, a fight that was ripping her apart internally. Reaching up, he gently wiped the small amounts of water her eyes betrayed.

The action caused her to jerk backwards, staring at him as a fearful realization was starting to dawn on her, at how unstable her emotions truly were becoming. Before the dark-furred monkey could say anything else, she jumped to her feet and held her hands out in a wavering manner, "S-Stay away from me! Everyone needs to stay away or they're going to get hurt! I-I don't...I can't...!"

She turned from him and ran down a different hallway than the others had disappeared into, her form fading in the darkness of the corridor. Antauri outstretched a hand in her direction, but soon lowered it as he reconsidered going after her when he heard Gibson on his communicator, _"Antauri, you better get in here. Mandarin has stabilized but Sparx is starting to go off the rails. I fear Otto and I wont be able to placate either of them without your help."_

"..." he sighed and stood up, pressing a finger to his radio as he walked down the hallway towards the medical ward, "I'll be right there."

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Sparx shouted at a very annoyed Mandarin.

Their leader was laying in a medical bed with a few wires and tubes coming out of him. He still was in horrible shape, a far cry from looking like the leader to a powerful crime-fighting team, but at least he was no longer at death's door.

The top part of the bed was inclined slightly, allowing him to comfortable sit upwards and look at the group without any effort on his part. Even when badly wounded with his metal pieces barely holding together, he held just as much intimidation in his gaze as ever.

Despite this, Sparx laid into the orange monkey for his roll in the accident, "We saw you, Mandarin! You were smiling at her like a jerk while Nova was freezing her fur off! Just where do you get the gall to treat your own teammate like that?!"

He brushed him off, as per usual, with a tilt of his head, "Hmph, you're overreacting just like she did, seventy-seven. Nova was fine, I wasn't going to actually turn her into an ice sickle. It was just a ruse to push her to her limit."

Otto reached out to pull Sparx a little away from Mandarin, but the red monkey jerked free of his friend's grip and got closer to their commander, "Oh you pushed her to her limit all right. Do you even realize what you did?! She was terrified!"

"That was the point." At seeing the pilot bristle from his words, he continued, "Fear brings out the best in us, and that was the real purpose to these new individual exercises. To see what each of you would do in a life or death situation."

The others were a little floored by his cold admission. Otto hesitantly took his shoulder, "It...was an accident right? No one was really gonna get hurt...right?"

He glanced at him with his ruby orbs before shaking his head, "Of course not."

Though his answer seemed to somewhat calm Otto down, Gibson fell into a judgemental silence as Sparx grew more outraged, "Y-You...H-How dare you?! We're not your little monkeys you can just experiment on!"

Mandarin snarled, narrowing his gaze, "...Are you questioning my leadership, _Sparky?"_ he spat the knick-name out in a chilling manner, making the other take a small step backwards.

Sparx wanted to play this game? He should know better than to face a simian that never backed down from a fight, "You should be proud of her, Sparx. She showed me raw power that I'll bet none of us knew she was capable of. Maybe you should push aside your feelings for your little girlfriend and instead look at her accomplishment today."

"Sh-She's not my girlfriend." Sparx immediately insisted, his fur turning a little redder.

"If I may." Gibson spoke up, trying to diffuse the rising tension, "Mandarin, while I admire you trying to see us to our full potential, perhaps the method in doing so was a little...eh...inefficient."

Mandarin shook his head, "No, I disagree. She nearly destroyed the robot with that power. If we could harness it...just imagine the possibilities." he turned his eyes to Sparx, as if he was deliberately trying to get a rise out of him, "Perhaps another training session is in order..."

"That is a foolish-" Gibson started, but halted in his words when Sparx let out a loud cry and grabbed Mandarin by his underarm, "S-Sparx! What-"

"That's it! That is _IT!"_ The red monkey snarled, "I've had it with you! I've been waiting forever to do this." he jerked Mandarin forwards and raised his free fist to give the orange monkey a rightfully deserved pummeling. Yet, something stopped him.

Mandarin was smiling at him in sick glee, waiting for Sparx to finally snap and hit him. He was obviously expecting it, yet another simple 'test' to see how far he could push in the name of making them a stronger team in his eyes.

His clenched hand wavering, his dark eyes darted around the room. Gibson was staring at Sparx in near-hidden worry while Otto looked on in horror at what his red-furred friend was about to do to their leader. A new body had joined them in the form of a disappointed Antauri, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and his foot tapping.

It was if the elder monkey was silently warning him not to do something he was going to regret.

The pilot glanced back and forth between Mandarin's smug expression to his distraught teammates before abruptly letting him go and pulling back, gazing at him with unbridled disgust, "...I'm gonna go check on Nova." With one more venomous look, Sparx turned and left the Med Bay before anyone could stop him.

Otto took a step forward to follow the one he saw as an elder brother, unable to even defend Mandarin's actions this time, before Antauri stopped him by pushing a hand to his chest, "Let him go, Otto. He and Nova are good friends and right now they need each other's support. Tensions are at a breaking level, and all of us-" he glanced to Mandarin before going on, "-need a breather after today's events. I think now is a good time to retire for the rest of the day. We'll come up with a new, safer, training exercise later."

Though he looked extremely reluctant, the green monkey bowed his head to the floor. After some gentle nudging from Antauri, Otto began to leave the room but not before giving Mandarin a frightened hug.

The orange monkey immediately tensed up, clearly surprised by the embrace, before he patted the mechanic's head a few times, "Get out of here, you idiot." his tone went from arrogant to teasing, "It'll take more than a supernova to wipe me out."

"...I'll drag you back in here if you leave before Gibson's go ahead." he tried hard to smile at his friend, but he just couldn't muster up the strength as he slowly exited the medical ward.

Gibson looked between Antauri and Mandarin and had the feeling that they wanted to be alone for a moment. Clearing his throat, he snatched up a few data pads before following after Otto, "I-I'll be right back! I just want to check a few of the Super Robot's systems with Otto first. I just want to make sure it's nothing too critical and all." he let out an awkward laugh before closing the doors behind him.

All was still in the Med Bay for a few minutes, neither black or orange monkey saying a word to each other. Finally Antauri sighed loudly, pressing a hand to his face and rubbing it, "...You just had to grind everyone's gears, didn't you?"

"Don't start with me, Antauri." their leader grumbled, pressing himself into the bed more, "It was for the good of Shuggazoom-"

"The good of Shuggazoom? Perhaps to some twisted degree, I might agree with you." Antauri interrupted as he slapped his hands on the edge of the bed, narrowing his gaze and leaning towards him, "But not for the good of the team, and you failed one of us today. You were chosen to lead us and protect everyone, not divide us."

He came so close to Mandarin that their snouts were nearly touching, never once breaking his green gaze from Mandarin's red one, "As soon as you can walk again, you are going to go to Nova and apologize to her for what you've done. From now on, outside of sparring matches, we will train together as a team and not alone. Do I make myself clear, _commander?"_

It was finally Mandarin's turn to recoil under someone. He could count on one hand the times that Antauri looked this angry, and the proud primate would never admit to anyone except perhaps Otto how much Antauri's ire scared him.

Letting the fear escape his features soon after they came, Mandarin went lax against the bedding and grumbled, "...Very well. We can't afford another robot anyway." Antauri nodded before leaning backwards, only for Mandarin to add on, "...I need to get stronger, Antauri. If I had been more in tune with the Power Primate, I could have not only remained unharmed by the blast but possibly predict it."

The spiritual advisor of the group scanned Mandarin's features for a moment, hesitating, before telling him, "...I wasn't sure about this, but because you look like you really want to learn, I might be able to help with that." He wasn't sure if he should have told Mandarin about Master Zan because for a while now he's started to sense a rising darkness in their leader. One that Antauri was starting to become unnerved by.

However, the Power Primate was a force to be reckoned with, one that no evil could penetrate, and surely it would be able to ease Mandarin's growing inner hatred and possessive nature.

Their leader turned his gaze back to his mentor, eyes widening bit by bit as Antauri went on to tell him how just a day ago he was telepathically contacted by an order of mages known as the Verron Mystics...

* * *

It was turning to dusk by now.

Nova sat on the shoulder of the damaged Super Robot, staring out to the city of Shuggazoom as the sun set to bath the skyscrapers in its orange hue. The warrior's knees were pressed tightly against her chest as her arms wrapped around them in a hug, chin resting on her elbows as she watched in silence.

The sun's golden glow made her shudder as it was a horrifying reminder of the training room. Of the sheer power she displayed thanks to her rage alone...how she nearly destroyed Mandarin and the Super Robot...maybe nearly all of them with it.

The sound of metal knocking on metal made her jump, twisting around to face whatever it was.

It was Sparx. He was standing a few feet from her, having rapped his knuckles on the cheek of the robot's head to get her attention. Clearing his throat, he walked towards her and smiled, "...I thought I'd find you out here."

She huffed and turned her head away from him to face the city again, "Am I that predictable?"

"...Nah. I just figured you'd want some fresh air too." he sat next to her and hung his legs off the side of the robot's shoulder. In the peripheral of his eye he saw Nova slowly shift out of her balled-up position to copy him and rest her own legs over the edge, but she never once glanced back in his direction.

He didn't blame her. He'd have a hard time facing any of them if he had done something so destructive...so awe inspiring and terrifying.

For a long while they sat there, the sun setting inch by inch as the minutes ticked by. Sparx hated it, hated seeing her like this. He didn't want her to be so sad and scared, he wanted that Nova that would punch him in the gut when he'd make a flirty advance on her. Yeah it hurt in more ways than one at times, but at least it was a familiar banter between the two.

Risking it, he attempted to say in a seductive tone, "You know, now that we're alone I guess I can finally tell you how good you looked today..." It wasn't as smooth as he usually was...but it was something.

Instead of smacking him, Nova merely replied, "That's nice Sparx." as she continued to stare ahead, clearly not paying attention.

 _Well, that was a failure. She really is messed up if she didn't even grimace at that._

Sparx shifted in place some, changing his tactic and trying to be genuine with her for once, "H-Hey...you wanna talk about it? About what happened, I mean."

 ** _"No."_**

The answer was abrupt and curt, wordlessly telling Sparx to back out of the question before he was thrown off the robot.

He looked down, kicking his legs some and squeezing the metal he was sitting on with his hands. It was hard to be touchy-feely without the teasing and the flirting to hide it all. Instead the red monkey just found himself utterly powerless to console her.

Her sigh caught his attention, making him turn his head to look at her as she started to softly speak, "...It's my fault, Sparx. Because of me...Mandarin...everyone...we all could have been killed. If I had only made the explosion a little bigger..." she shook in place, hating how pathetic she was coming off in front of Sparx of all monkeys, "I don't know what I would have done if I lost you guys..."

Sparx stared, completely floored by the level of vulnerability she was showing him. Ever fiber of his being wanted to hold her and tell her it'd be okay, but he felt that trying to hug her now might send the wrong message. She could think he's trying to take advantage of her while she was distraught.

Scratching the back of his neck, he managed to scoot a little closer to place a comforting hand on hers, making Nova look up at him with her sad bubblegum eyes. He forced a small smile, "I-I...I'm really bad at these kinds of pep talks. This is Antauri's forte but...what the heck. I'll give it a shot."

He twisted himself to face her more, "...Nova, as angry as you can get I know you'd never destroy us. How? Well, it's in your build, to be simple about it." he pointed to her chest, "The heart beating in there is the same as the rest of us, and we'd never betray our own right? It was just a freak accident...that's all."

When she started to look away, he squeezed her hand a little to get her to look back at him as he admitted, "...If it eases your guilt at all, I let my anger get the best of me and I nearly slugged our leader right in front of the others. Not very eh...professional huh?"

She stared at him, stunned. Sparx was quicker to anger other than herself, and she knew he and Mandarin butted heads, but to hear him get pushed that far too? Well...it was surprising to say the least.

Awkwardly pulling her hand out from under his, she wrapped her arms around herself in a self hug, "...Do you think they'll forgive me?"

Sparx laughed some, waving a hand, "Us? Come on Nova, we were scared for you not angry. There's nothing to forgive. Mandarin though, well, come on asking him to forgive anyone is a self fulfilling prophecy."

His words made her give a light, humorous, laugh in response as he started to stand up, "...Well uh...I should go before the others try to track me down. I don't think you'd want a party out here, huh? Honestly though...you should talk to Antauri if your anger scares you. He's a lot better at this than I am."

Sparx honestly wanted to stay a little longer with her, but...the warmth he felt with Nova was just becoming too much for his nerves to handle. It made him feel weak to be sitting there spilling his heart out in front of a warrior like her, even if she was upset. Besides, he did what he set out to do and made her smile at this awful situation.

Just as he turned to leave her be, she whispered, "...Hey Sparx?"

"Yeah Nova?" he looked back at her. The glow of the sun behind her made her yellow fur look golden in that moment, causing his heart to clench.

"...Thanks." she gave him the tiniest of smiles.

He shook his head to get her image out of his head and turned away, "Don't thank me just yet. We both know you're going to get an earful from Mandarin as soon as he's better."

She weakly chuckled as he went back inside, looking out onto the horizon in the last few moments before the world was bathed in comforting darkness.

* * *

 _That was fun. I hope you guys enjoyed this short fanfic, and I might do a few more of these in the future. I'm not sure, but it does feel good to start writing again._


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